Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) led her colleagues in the Houston Democratic Delegation in sending a letter to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) leadership, expressing their concerns about the staffing crisis at the National Weather Service (NWS) Houston/Galveston Forecast Office and requesting information about how the agency plans to continue providing vital services amid drastic staffing cuts.

“The NWS Houston/Galveston Forecast Office will soon lose all three members of its leadership staff,” the members wrote.  “The Meteorologist in Charge, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, and the Science and Operations Officer have all either already departed or announced their plans to leave following the announcement of significant staffing reductions at the direction of President Trump and Elon Musk.  All three of the leadership roles in NWS regional forecast offices are vital to the overall operations of the office.”

“Losing any one of these three positions for an extended period could mean that the NWS Houston/Galveston Forecast Office will be forced to limit its outreach to the community, including emergency managers, schools, and hospitals, and will not be able to implement the latest forecasting research or techniques,” the members continued.  “But losing all three of these essential employees will increase the risk of errors or missed extreme weather warnings and exacerbate an already overworked staff.   NWS forecast office employees are working longer shifts because of the forced staffing reductions, which is leading to severe worker burnout.  NWS staff provide a vital public service to the Southeast Texas community, and these employees and our communities deserve better.”

Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (TX-29) and Congressman Al Green (TX-09) joined Congresswoman Fletcher in the letter request.

To view the full text of the letter, click here.